Sports
By Whit Griswold - March 1, 2007
Nick Billingham is ready to rip one against Mansfield. Photos by jumbopix.com
Hockey team passes first MIAA test
With a season record of 11 wins, 4 losses and 5 ties, the MVRHS boys varsity hockey team is seeded sixth in MIAA's Division 2 South behind Franklin, Hanover, Coyle & Cassidy, Canton, and King Phillip. They played 11th seeded Mansfield (10-8-2) on Tuesday at Gallo Arena, Bourne, and came away with a 3-1 win.
Mitch Pachico, assisted by Colin Hurd, posted the first goal of the game at 11:57 and the Islanders led from that point on. Just 16 seconds later Sam Hurd upped the ante to 2-0, unassisted.
After a scoreless second period, Captain Steve Greenberg beat goalie Ryan Kershaw with the Vineyard's third goal, assisted by Warren West and Tad Gold. Mansfield's Eddie Brown averted a shutout with a goal in the third frame.
The Islanders took twice as many shots on goal as did the Hornets. Alex Minnehan was the winning goalie.
Next challenge for the Vineyard is third-seeded Coyle and Cassidy, a long-time nemesis for the Island skaters, at the Gallo in Bourne on Saturday.
Terrell Johnson soars for two of his 14 points. Jwann Johnson backs the play up.
Hoopsters repulse Crusaders at States
Their season record of 13-9 earned the MVRHS boys varsity basketball team a 14th seed in Division 2 South and home-court advantage against 19th seeded Carver in the preliminary round, Monday.
The lead seesawed through most of the first half. Then, with four minutes remaining in the period, Nick Viera dropped two from the foul line, Terrell Johnson drove for two hoops. Matt Lucier added a fall away, and Viera sank one from beyond the arc and added another freebie. When the whistle blew the home team led, 26-22.
At the start of the second half, MV ran off seven points to lead by 10. Carver hung around reducing the lead, even tying the score at 33, but the Crusaders could never quite take the lead. The final count was 67-57, Vineyard.
Nick Viera (15), Terrell Johnson (14) and Jacob Vanderhoop (13) led the Island scoring.
Carver's Richie King, the South Shore League's leading scorer, had 17.
The Vineyard tackled third-seeded Scituate (18-2) at Scituate last night at 7:30 pm.
Tad Gold scored a short-handed goal unassisted in the Methuen game.
MVRHS hockey teams win season-enders
Youth hockey squads also finish strong
The varsity ice hockey teams ended their scheduled seasons with victories, Friday, the girls topping Wayland-Weston, 3-1, and the boys shutting out Methuen, 4-0.
Alexa Fisher put the Island girls on the board, unassisted, at the 10-minute mark of the first period. But before time ran out the visitors had evened the count.
Nine minutes into the second period Cristina Wiley restored the Vineyard lead, assisted by Nica Sylvia and Shelby Ives.
With four and a half minutes on the clock, Alexa Fisher's second goal iced the cake, 3-1.
Alexa Fisher (7) scored the Vineyard's first goal early and unassisted in their 4-0 win over Wayland. Ana Jurczyk (6) is ready for a possible rebound.
Rangers corralled
Sam Hurd started the scoring in the boys game assisted by Zach Sylvia and Matt Flynn ten minutes into the contest.
Sylvia scored the Vineyard's second goal two minutes into the second period, assisted by Davey Campbell and Nick Billingham. Ten minutes later Tad Gold's unassisted short-handed goal made it 3-0.
A slap shot from the right corner by Matt Flynn ten minutes into the third period ended the game at 4-0.
Goalie Michael Capen was credited with the shutout.
Something to crow about
The MV Youth Hockey Bantams finished their season undefeated, 13-0-3, then won the league playoffs by downing the Barnstable Lightnings easily Saturday, 9-2, and outlasting Nantucket, 3-0, in Orleans to claim all the honors.
In the Barnstable game, Nelson Dickson started the scoring for the Vineyard and Tyler Araujo's hat trick made it 4-1 at the close of the first period.
Charles Goldthwait and Gillian O'Callahan added points in the second period. Dakota Delviento, Alex Bilzerien and Araujo topped it off in the third. MV 9, Barnstable Lightning 2.
The game everyone was waiting for pitted the Vineyarders against their Island rivals, Nantucket.
The last time they met ended in a 3-3 tie. Thanks to MV goalie Mike Sylvia, the first period was scoreless. Sylvia made five outstanding saves. The second period was Louis Jacob-Walsh's turn to stop the Nantucket assault and the scoreboard remained with goose eggs.
Nine minutes into the third period, Tony DeBettencourt broke the deadlock, assisted by Charles Goldthwait. Two minutes later, Alex Bilzerian made it 2-0 with help from Dakota Delviento. Nantucket pulled its goalie and paid the price when Tyler Araujo filled the void. M.V. 3-0.
Dedicated team coaches Cole Powers and Danny Merry are to be congratulated.
MV Squirts settle it
The two MV Squirts teams, the Warriors (17-2) and Islanders (16-2-1), faced off at the Arena, Thursday, to see which would challenge Lower Cape for the league title. The Warriors claimed the privilege, 5-2.
Tyson Araujo started the scoring for the Warriors at 6:41 of the first period. Emerson Mahoney made it 2-0 with a wrap-arounder with seconds left in the period.
In the second frame, Islander Callie Jackson scored unassisted, then aided Dorian Johnson for a goal to even the count. 2-2. In the third period Warrior goalie Jack Slayton made 33 saves while at the other end of the ice Araujo was filling the net three times to give the Warriors a 5-2 win.
Championship game
Against Lower Cape at the Charles Moore, Saturday, Tyson Araujo scored 16 seconds after the face off and proved to be all but unstoppable, filling the net seven times in all. Austin Morley added two more and the Vineyarders skated off with a 9-5 win. The score was close, 6-5 in the third period. But Araujo collected a second hat trick and Mac Sashin, William MacDonald, Alexander Vukota and Caleb Hallet shut down the LC attack with Jack Slayton standing tall in goal.
At one point in the game, penalties gave Lower Cape a 5-3 man advantage. The Islanders kept their cool and scored two short-handed goals.
Travel Mites bow
Nantucket defeated the MV Travel Mites, 4-1, Monday, Feb. 19, at the Charles Moore Arena in Orleans, despite Wyatt Jenkinson's good efforts in goal. Nicholas Vukota scored the MV goal off a rebound, assisted by Tristan Araujo.
Girls tie York
York, Maine brought its girls youth hockey team to the Arena, Saturday, Feb. 17, and skated to a 2-2 tie with the MVYH girls team. Angela Casey and Amanda Gonsalves did the scoring. Mary Vogel was effective in goal fronted by Lilly Gazaille.
MV Peewees are Champs
On Saturday, Feb. 17, the MVYH Peewees pulled out a 2-1 win over the Barnstable Eagles with third period goals by Kyp Cooperrider and Shay Hill, both assisted by Max Davies. The next Saturday the Islanders claimed the league crown, first defeating Lower Cape, 2-0, on goals by Shay Hill and Brian Hurley, and then Nantucket, 3-1, with Bill Jacobs, Matt Goldfarb. and Eamon MacKenzie filling the net.
